Serving the Nation’s Capital and adjacent reaches of Maryland and Virginia with comfortable, quiet and carpeted trains, high-design stations and service offered every day, night and weekend, Metrorail was long the darling of the DMV. However, the entire six-line system was designed with only one track per direction for each line, and as Metrorail expanded, funding was earmarked largely for construction rather than maintenance.

As a result, in the last decade or so, Metrorail has been increasingly criticized for unreliable service and frequent breakdowns, as well as rain-flooded stations, a track fire, an oil spill, a rush-hour derailment at the heart of the Mall, a fatal crash, and a dramatic incident that left one rider dead and dozens injured inside a stalled, smoke-filled train. In 2015, after years of lip service by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) stepped in to oversee a year-long overhaul of Metrorail. Called SafeTrack, this overhaul began in March 2016, and it’s so far been plagued by reports of significant delays on every line, stalled escalators during rush hours, and safety violations by Metrorail repair workers, as well as dangerous incidents like drivers running red lights at stations, smoke in a Green/Red-line station tunnel, and a derailment on the still-new Silver Line.

The chart below illustrates the repair schedule yet to come — but please note that unforeseen conditions/incidents mean this schedule is subject to change:

The latest Metrorail controversy is WMATA’s plan to shorten weekend night service; Friday-Saturday service would end at 12 midnight instead of 3am, and Sunday service would end at 10pm instead of 12 midnight. If you enjoy attending late-night events like concerts and plays, Metrorail could become a stressful choice as you rush to make the last train — or find yourself stranded.